EFFECTS OF THE NEGLECT OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SOME SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS (EDUCATION PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
In Nigeria society like all other fast developing countries, one discovers that guidance and counselling services are indispensable in all areas of our national life. The absence of guidance and counselling services in any nation may lead into various problems which might affect the life of the majorities. One of such problem that may arise is the serious uncertainty in assessing students’ innate abilities when it comes to educational consideration.
In school today one cannot boast of a good number of students who have discovered their talents or academic potentialities in secondary schools. The schools have not done much to help or assist students discover their innate abilities through the help of guidance and counselling. Therefore, students just choose to study all subjects in school curriculum without any special note of strength and weaknesses of each student.
The result of this ignorance of guidance and counselling is that many students are not sure of the subject to study for their school certificate examination. Hence, they fail to have a good combination of result.
Many students have results that seem to be very good but without good or required combination for courses in any of the tertiary institution. There is the cross-road of uncertainty creeps in decision about what courses to pursue or what profession to prepare for or what higher educational institution to go before it difficult to make.
Moreover, it is in the view of this situation that the students who fail to perform well in examination are not necessarily because of poor intellectual ability but because they fail to adopt effective study skills due to ignorance or neglected of guidance and counselling.
It is in the view of this situation that the researcher advocates guidance and counselling as one of such educational services that are aimed to develop assess improve educational programmes and making learning experiences more meaningful especially for the secondary school students.
Apparently, guidance and counselling also assist the secondary school students adjust properly to family school, peer association and society in general. Carefully study of the students interest (extrinsic and intrinsic) abilities, strength, future aspiration capabilities and weaknesses it is also meant to:
- Guide students to discover the subject curriculum which aggress with their innate abilities.
- To direct the students to choose a suitable subject combination for their future careers.
- Provide students with enough information about the viable occupations in the areas of their interest and lead them to choose one of two such areas.
Finally, it is very important that guidance and counselling can not be overlooked or neglected in the academic performance of secondary school students.
